#untilthenextencore

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Jimmy & Dahlia made their exit from the Chuco sometime after that. The smallest thing triggered it. The funniest thing. A song by the Duprees. And a shared look after one last dance.

"See the pyramids along the Nile…

Watch the sun rise on a tropic isle…

Just remember, darling, all the while…

You belong to me…"

The look they shared was laden with understanding. A flicker of a shared shy, sheepish smile. A soft laugh at how fitting the song was then.

They both knew it was time. It was in their nerves. In their blood. A little flicker in their eyes.

Jimmy laced his fingers through hers, hand swallowing hers as he gazed down at her. "Shall we?"

Dahlia nodded simply. "Let's go."

Jimmy slipped out of his jacket, draping it around her shoulders before leading her back out into the now much cooler night. He nodded & smiled in greeting, tossing a few waves to some cheering fans before they were both tucked safely back into the quiet private depths of the backseat of the town car he arrived in.

"Darling, you really shouldn't have run off like that. You really did give me quite a fright. Though I'm glad you left word for me with Peter." He tutted, patting her hand.

"Of course, baby." She reached up to cup his face tenderly & thumbed the swell of his cheek. "Like you already said I didn't want to worry you. I got bored back there but saw you were still having fun. I knew Peter would get the word to you in where I had gone. If you didn't already know or guess. I just got homesick I guess. Missed things. Missed the place. The fun. You know. The old days I guess."

The old days.

Memories danced in Jimmy's mind. Of more dances here. More dances at the Chuco. Inside under the tinted light. Outside on the patio. Under the streetlight. Under the stars. Under the moon.

From the first time she took him there in his Yardbirds days to then. Through all lengths of his hair. Through all lengths of his beard. Both before & after his beard. Pinstriped trousers, jeans, velvet bellbottoms. Silk blouses, lace trim, simple cotton. No matter what he wore he was always welcome. She was always welcome. They were always welcome.

It wasn't hard to see why she loved it.

Why she missed it.

Why she escaped.

The other party was the complete opposite.

Though she stuck out in both like a sore thumb - albeit a stunningly beautiful one - it was clear, she fit this one like a glove.

"I'm sorry if I worried you at all, Jimmy. I thought maybe if I went along with Robert when he offered you'd have less to worry about."

Jimmy stifled a laugh. Stifled a grin. Barely. After all these years. Even after that night. She still had no idea. He was glad in a way. It meant Robert hadn't tried anything. It also meant that certainly Magnet hadn't either. It meant she was still safe. Still his. Still secure.

"Forgive me?"

And thus, so was he.

Cupping her face in his large hands, Jimmy cooed in a dragon's curl of smoke from the cigarette he had just finished. "There's nothing to forgive, my dear. Nothing. As long as you're safe."

Dahlia beamed at him, placing her hands over his cupping her cheeks, starry-eyed as ever. "I had a wonderful time tonight, darling. Hope you did too. Despite the slight fright I gave you."

His smile grew before his lips pressed to her forehead once more. "My dearest. My sweetest. My loveliest. My only. My girl. My lady. My Dahlia."

His heart swelled in his chest at what he saw flickering in her gaze. The light. The devotion. The purity. Purity of gaze. Of heart. Of love. Of feeling. Of emotion. Pure, raw emotion.

All of this led him to make one simple promise. "The night's not over yet, my girl. My lady. It is but still young for us."

"I bless the day I found you…

I wanna stay around you…

Now and forever, let it be me…"

Jimmy's smile brightened at the sound of the Everlys crooning over the radio. "Remember this song, my darling?"

"Don't take this heaven from one…

If you must cling to someone…

Now and forever, let it be me…"

Dahlia's smile quirked in the same way. Instantly, she read his mind. "Palomino, 1969."

They shared a private giggle. A favorite date of theirs. A favorite memory of theirs. Jimmy taking Dahlia to see the Everly Brothers at the Palomino in 1969. Holding hands. Holding her close. Sneaking squeezes of her hand. Sneaking little clinches. Sneaking kisses. As they did before.

"Each time we meet, love…

I find complete love…

Without your sweet love…

What would life be?..."

As they did then.

Jimmy leant in & nuzzled Dahlia. Nuzzled his wife. She nuzzled back. A low growl sounded in his throat. A purr in hers. A chuckle followed from him. A giggle from her.

The partition rose between them & the front seat. Jimmy's arms came around Dahlia's back, hands caressing the skin left bare by her low backed dress. Dahlia shivered & purred again, reclining back as Jimmy leant her back into the seat. Her arms circled his shoulders as their nuzzling intensified & once again their lips met.

She shivered as she felt his silver jeweled pendant cool against her hot skin.

"Gee whiz, look at his eyes…

Gee whiz, how they hypnotize…

He's got everything a girl could want…

Man, oh, man, what a prize…

Oh, oh…"

As the song played Dahlia gazed up at him in the flickering, intermittent light. The dragon's green fire seared her to the core. A private smile was shared. A tandem flicker. The air crackling between the two as it so often did. And suddenly two pairs of curved lips crashed into each other.

"Heaven up above knows how much…

I love that fella's soul…

Angels sing of a love like this…

I hope our love will grow and grow…"

Jimmy's lips burned a trail of heated kisses down her throat as his hand blazed a trail up her skirt. Her legs fell open instantly. As if on command. Under his spell as ever. Open sesame.

"'Cause, gee whiz, I love that guy…

Gee whiz, my, my, oh my…

There are things we could do…

I could say I love you…

But all I can say is…

Gee whiz…"

His lips trailed back up to claim & conquer hers yet again. Dominating her again. Mauling her again. Dahlia nipped his lower lip softly, earning a throaty growl. The growl of course came with more hungry, devouring kisses.

A sudden gasp left Dahlia's lips, thighs tightening around his hand slightly as Jimmy's fingers shifted her panties aside & his middle finger pressed inside.

"Dahlia… My lady…" He panted.

Dahlia let her legs fall open just that bit wider. Jimmy's finger pressed deeper, curving towards those familiar places he knew so well would elicit those deliriously sweet sounds.

"Ah!..."

And little bucks & lifts & rocks of her hips as she was so doing then. Each little buck allowed her skirt to slip higher and higher up her thigh. The slipping slip dress thusly only revealed more and more of her shifted panties & his working fingers.

The sight of the flickering light, intermittent from passing cars & streetlights, flashing on her exposed core stirred him to no end. The sight of her lips parted. Him parting her lips. His fingers parting them & pumping. Curving. Pressing deep. Making her mewl. It stirred him… To action.

"Oh, my angel…

Come back to me…

And I will love you…

Till eternity…

Oh, my angel…

This fire in my heart…

Consumes my happiness…

Since we are apart…"

Jimmy let Dahlia slip from his arms momentarily, only to bring both hands to his belt & undo it.

"Dahlia… Forgive me… I need..."

Dahlia merely allowed herself to sink down onto the sear & giggled. "There's nothing to forgive… As you said, my love…"

Jimmy hurriedly undid & unzipped his trousers, freeing himself & allowing his length to fall free. Dahlia giggled again & softly stroked his length in greeting. Jimmy jolted, grunting, groaning deeply. He stilled himself, allowing her a few more smooth strokes before acting again.

Taking her hand & once more pressing a kiss to the back before draping her arms around his shoulders. Coming close, he gave her panties a tug down her thighs before embracing her once more. And with that, Jimmy rose over her, drawing his hips back & piercing her in one go.

"Ah!" Cane the tandem response.

"You're mine…

And we belong together…

Yes, we belong together…

For eternity…"

The music was the perfect soundtrack as they lay wrapped in each other's arms. Another giggle was shared between the two before Jimmy pressed deeply once more. Another thrust. Another gasp.

"You're mine…

Your lips belong to me…

Yes, they belong to only me…

For eternity…"

Jimmy rolled his hips into hers slowly. Smoothly. Deeply. He drew out moan after moan. Sigh after sigh. Stirring her from deep within.

Dahlia's back arched, allowing Jimmy to slide the spaghetti straps down her shoulders. There he was able to bunch the silken dress at her waist. There he was able to trail kisses down her neck as her head craned back.

His lips trailed a heated path down to her breasts, circling her nipples & sucking them into peaks as his tongue batted & teased them. The sight of her panties, filmy & now sodden, ringing around her ankle led him to remove them, pocketing them secretly. Then, Jimmy's smile widened as Dahlia's legs wrapped around his waist. Her heels grazed the upholstery on the door behind him, her ankles locked behind his back as he drove consistently into her as they were driven around.

"You're my, my baby…

And you'll always be…

I swear by everything I own…

You'll always, always be mine…"

Dahlia watched as his pendants glinted in the light. Dangling & spinning. Hypnotizing her. Each thrust pierced her to her very core. Stealing her breath away. Her hands slipped under his jacket, sliding along the smooth expanse of skin along his back. Her fingers curled. Nails scoring into his shoulders.

His hips stuttered & faltered only momentarily before snapping harder & ever so slightly faster into her.

"You're mine…" The song crooned.

"Jimmy..." Dahlia mewled, arching her back slightly. The way her eyes both glittered & hazed over caught his eye. He recognized that. Recognized the way her nails dragged from his shoulders down his back. He hissed & shuddered & snapped his hips yet again, thrusting deeper still.

Her legs tightened around him. Walls tightened around him. Arms tightened around him. "Ahhh… Jimmy… Jimmy…"

"Are you close, darling?" He asked with a kiss, even though he already knew.

As he expected, he saw her nod slowly, still with that hazed starry-eyed gaze.

Jimmy smiled, sliding one hand down to brace her hip. His thumb swirled gently on her clit as he began to hone his thrusts in a very pointed fashion. Dahlia gasped softly. The gasp was muffled against his lips as he claimed hers in yet another passionate kiss.

"Mmmm… Me too…" He admitted, with a cheeky grin, muffling his subsequent chuckles into her lips just as she had muffled her gasps.

Now their hips rocked in unison. Lifting & rolling into a sweet, smooth grinding meeting. The two of them colliding over & over.

"Jimmy…" Dahlia mewled.

"Mmm-hmm…" He purred, wrapping one arm around her back, the other hand bracing her thigh, keeping it close to him.

"Jimmy… Jimmy…" She nipped his lower lip, causing him to growl. The sound vibrated through her body, making her shiver & clench around him.

She felt him drive into her clenching tightness in a few short quick thrusts, aiming for her spot just so & jolted. Another gasp fell from her lips as her back arched. She clutched into him & with the last of his thrusts as he grunted & groaned, he spilled & she shattered.

Galaxies collided as their bodies had, shattering & spreading stardust across her vision, the stars he had seen in her eyes sealed with a bated breath sigh of his name & kiss.

"Jimmy..."

The same stars she saw alight in his now as his lids fluttered open. Emerald depths twinkling in greeting as their gazes met.

"My lady…"

"Jimmy…"

Her fingers drew their last trails down his back. Another hiss fell from his lips as he stirred deep within her, filling her as he braced her body to his. Large right hand still bracing her thigh to his hip. His left arm still wrapped around her, keeping her stomach flush against his.

"I love you…"

He swore as his lips retook & staked their claim on hers at the same time. Deep, passionate, grateful, sated, yet all the more hungry kisses greeted her on the way down as they both recovered.

"I love you…"

She sighed her pledge in return.

Another purr sounded as despite the eternity their hurried climb & easy float down from their peak seemed to take, they both registered the last words of the song then on the radio. Fitting as ever. As always.

"And we belong together…

Yes, we belong together…

For eternity…"

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Hope y'all enjoy~!

Backstory: Summer 1973~. Jimmy & Dahlia had gotten married in the past year~. Some of the more territorial newer wannabe groupies are having a hard time coping with not just her continual presence on tour, but now Dahlia's new status as THE Mrs. Page~. Her & Robert's displaying their close friendship doesn't help~.

Their subsequent finding a friendly way to deal with their boredom amongst the goings on that the hangers on & wannabe groupies live for by escaping certainly doesn't help~.

Robert offers the escape~. He's always been a little in awe of Pagey's choice of girl both in general in the early days, but also in the form of his chosen one, Dahlia~. She is so familiar yet foreign to him it makes his head spin~. So worldly, yet down to earth~. A mix of city yet downhome that he might've chosen for himself if he had the chance~. But as far as he's known her she's been Pagey's~. Solidly, decidedly, faithfully Pagey's~.

Suffice to say, even in his happiest moments in the friendship he's conflicted~. Even though they're not cheating or going behind Pagey's back~.

But when he finds himself even moreso conflicted about the cloak & dagger aspect of their innocent little excursion, that he himself offered initially, he then finds the idea of Pagey finding out also somehow doesn't appeal to him~.

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Ho hum. Another day. Another dollar. Another concert. Another party. Another night to remember. Until they forget it all in the morning. Or lose track of which night in the sea of "nights to remember" held the goings on their shattered minds remembered only fractures of at tour's end. Glittered & goggle eyed groupies frantically flipped over themselves to catch the eye of anyone who was anyone in King Robert's court. Or so it seemed.

True. Robert was holding court like he was king. One of four at least. But being in the middle of yet another tour - an American one at that - only meant one thing. Like the others he was left without a queen. Only one of their roundtable could however not lay claim to such a misfortune. The luckiest one among them. The wizard in his stars & moon suit himself. James Patrick Page.

No. Because as ever Jimmy had brought along his lady. Lady Dahlia-Maria Dominguez Page. The Lady who was a natural creative herself it seemed. She & her camera, while remaining discreet & unobtrusive, furnished some of the most intimate portraits of the band allowed. A few Peter even sold at the merch table, netting her a tidy sum of her own aside from being married to he of the led wallet and house of Tower.

Though she only released a few here and there. She too liked to maintain her own brand of privacy. Despite the wingding that was their wedding in Hampton Court Palace - of all bleeding places - in the past year, she really preferred a smaller do generally. Friends & family & neighborhood kin & no more. As was borne out by the smaller dos held in Mexico at her family's small yet palatial feeling compound in Jalisco that was something of an early childhood home for her & Pagey's place in England for family that could not swing airfare for a trip to the palace.

Which begged the question.

What the hell was she doin here?!

Not that he begrudged her presence itself. Not at all. Robert & Dahlia always seemed to get on rather well. Down home types lost in the Wonderland that was the entertainment business. Though even with her downhome partial Mexican upbringing Dahlia was decidedly still more of a city girl to this country boy.

Being an LA local, Dahlia knew it like the back of her prettily manicured hand. A hand she also often used in keeping much of the frivolity at arm's length. Even when in the middle of it all. She seemingly always sat apart. That was what Robert didn't understand about her presence in such madness.

Clearly the groupies agreed. Equally manicured hands being verily filed into a point, eager to tear at a tawny-skinned throat as their owner's gripped. "What is SHE doing here?!" Calling her everything but a child of God or what her father's own book termed their culture, "Children of the Sun".

No matter.

She seemingly stayed unaffected.

Toying with her engagement & wedding rings just so. Arranging the gold bangle bracelets or matching pendant. Her only flashes of vanity or pride being her only answer. Letting both that & her presence along with the 5000 other ways she was the "chosen one" of the Mr. James Patrick Page do the talking for her. Knowing her, if she were feeling cheeky she might whip out her instant camera & take a pic of the offending party, leaving some hanger on to deliver it & with it the picture proof / photo evidence of their bitterness as she & her beloved husband tangled fingers & held hands. They can have a pic. She had the real thing.

Guinevere was not giving up her throne.

Unbothered by the petty strife clawing at the door, begging to enter her beloved Camelot.

Rather, she looked bored, really.

Jimmy had disappeared with Bonzo. Off to take a powder likely. She had been chatting with Jonesy about books & things to get his girls & Mo back home, but now he too was off somewhere. Hangers on knew better than to try to ingratiate themselves with her. She had iced them out before. Now they well knew. There was no way in to the Page / Zeppelin inner sanctum with her.

As further proof, both of her seeming boredom & inaccessibility by groupie or hanger on, Robert saw her pull a small book out of her purse. That was Dahlia. Forever a bookworm. Sodom & Gomorrah at her feet. Head in the clouds. Nose in a book.

Before he knew it, Robert felt himself propelled towards her, stumbling a few times when a glittered & bejeweled fan flung & slung herself over him. Extricating himself deftly every time he uttered a soft, "Not this time, darlin'." "Maybe another night, doll." Or even "What will me missus, think?" Laughing his way out of harm's way as he bid them good night & left them to join the party. He caught more curses & sotto-voce snipes when they saw in what direction he was heading. But no matter. His course was set. Off he traveled to the "land of the people of the sun".

It was then that he allowed his six foot sun-people seeking self to cast a shadow over her in the midst of her reading. This had the intended effect of having the dim light she had been reading under all but disappear as he blocked it out. She whirled around to regard him with sharp eyes that were cut to him in momentary disgust. Her lips pursed as a similarly sharp tongue went about finding the right barb to fling before suddenly dropping its weapon. Her eyes widened before her gaze then softened in mirth as she lifted her arm in modified Roman salute, hand tilted upwards slightly. "Hail, Apollo. What brings the Sun God to these darkened shores?"

Sun God? He quite liked the sound of that. So he decided to play along, wracking his brain for his schoolboy Mythology.

"Hail, Aphrodite. I come in peace." He said, mimicking her salute with the hand that was not holding his beloved ale. "Or should it be Persephone, luv? By the way... Where is our beloved Hades?" Robert craved his neck around, looking for the dark-haired lord of the underworld that always seemed to be lurking around every corner when she was involved. "My stars." He gasped, putting a hand to his bared chest for affect. "I see no star suited one for miles. How is that possible?"

"I think he's off with your fellow northern friend right now. The one who plays either Dionysus or Ares if the bacchanalia goes too far." Dahlia quipped, her lips quirking into a wry grin as she pointed to Jonesy at the bar. "Hermes just left himself as well."

"Foolish ones they are." He tsked, shaking his head. "Leaving one so fair alone in the midst of such bacchanalia indeed."

Looking down he saw that where the glittered ones would have blushed or fluttered their eyelashes & twirled a curl of hair into a coil in flirtation, that was decidedly not Dahlia's - nor Aphrodite or Persephone's - way. Instead, she stayed looking up at him with the same wry grin & mirthful if still piercing stare along with a soft incredulous shake of the head. Her lips said nothing. But those eyes? Those eyes said EVERYTHING.

Clearing his throat & lubricating himself & his suddenly dry mouth with more ale, he jutted his chin at her book. "Whatcha readin' there, luv?"

"A mini collection of Harlem Renaissance poetry. Some classics. The usual." She marked her page & closed it to show him the cover art. Brown bodies arced & curved in exultation.

"Classics indeed. Your usual. A nice addition to your other usual Agatha Christies." He grinned. "What for?"

"Just because." She shrugged as she pocketed the book. "And because I figure if I'm to live in the aftermath of the Swinging Sixties... The Roaring Seventies some have termed... I better brush up on how the times used to Roar back in the day. Better brush up on my Cotton Club classic bacchanalia... Although..." She cast a suddenly weary look across all the goings on around them. Glittering, giggling, sharpened nails & tongues of hardened decidedly un flowerchild GTO like groupies & grubby fingered, coke jittery, tipsy-drunk, outstretched-handed hangers on included & heated a sigh. "Forgive me for saying but this pales in comparison to my childhood dreams of the Cotton Club."

"Indeed." He nodded with another sip of his ale. So she saw what he did that night. What he felt. She felt it too.

"I mean, not to be ungrateful or anything. Knowing how you like it & all. "Prince of Peace" that you are." There was that quirk of her lips again as she drawled the last part out.

Try as he might not to, he winced at the memory of those words leaving his lips unironically. Ah, so she had heard that story too. Of course she had. Was nothing a secret in this God forsaken place?!

His momentary embarrassment was compounded at the same time he was delightfully distracted by the sound of her sweet giggle. "I know how much fun you have typically. And I get how you dig the scene generally speaking. It just doesn't... It doesn't... It doesn't really do it for me... Not much... I mean all these people... They'd probably not spit on me if I were on fire if I wasn't with you guys. If I wasn't Mrs. Page. Hell, half of them would likely be the ones holding the match. Some of them still would now!" She cut her eyes in half dismissal half bemusement at the nail-filing bile-spitting groupies.

Naturally, she saw that too. Nothing escapes a goddess's eyes. A queen misses nothing.

"To clink glasses & break bread with them feels so false & disingenuous. Knowing all that, I mean. That's another reason I have this book." She tapped the book with a finger before closing her purse around it. "That way, I don't have to."

"Suffice to say, grateful though I am to be invited to these things, considering some of the company that find their way in... This ain't exactly my kinda party, Planty." She took her champagne glass from the table, clinking it with his bottle. "Cheers." Before downing the swallow or two that remained.

A moment passed in silent agreement. Robert having nodded at everything she said. The falsehoods of their lifestyle that were apparently hitting him hard that night, she had always seen. Hence her keeping it all at arm's length. Alice falling down a rabbit hole but landing on her own two feet. Dorothy traveling through Oz in a bubble of her own design. Pagey or not, his girl had her own magick. This he had always known. So had Pagey, he surmised, as evident by the rock on her finger as much as anything else.

"What is your type of party, luv? Missing Hampton Court?" He teased, though he knew her well enough to know better.

"No indeed." She laughed, nodding as he refilled her glass. "Thank you, kind sir." Then after a sip, she continued. "Even I know that night was a one in a million. A once in a lifetime event. Though that indeed was a night to remember as you well know."

There went that phrase again. At least this time it was worth it. That night truly was one to remember for all involved. Mariachis and Led Zeppelin acoustic jam at Hampton Court. Would wonders never cease? That had to be a first for all involved!

"But, c'mon blondie!" She nudged him, shaking him out of his reverie.

A reverie of her in her wedding whites with glittering mantilla veil coming down the aisle towards at the altar, seated next to Pagey, dancing with Pagey... And the dances he was able to share with her himself. Cor, was she a vision then. A lovelier bride he had hardly ever known.

Shaking out a wince at the thought of even thinking thar when he had his own missus at home... One who had a decidedly less ritzy do when her own turn came years earlier... He again silenced these demons with another swig of ale & turned his eyes back to the dusky goddess queen vision at hand.

"You know what it is. What my kind of party is. You know it about as well as Jimmy. Think about it."

"Jalisco?" Robert asked.

"Well, yeah." She nodded. "Yes, of course. But what about stateside? You remember. Though it's been awhile."

Robert instantly got hit with another blast from the past and he rattled off the vignettes as they came flashing back to him. "East LA. Whittier Boulevard. The Chuco." A quaint little chill hangout spot for local Chicano youth that played a mix of oldies, early rock'n'roll, Chicano groups, Latin jazz & Mexican or Latin music of all kinds.

Dahlia snapped her fingers & pointed at him. "Bingo. That's it. That's it exactly, Robert. That's my kind of party. All of it."

"Why don't we go back tonight then?" Robert offered with yet another swig from his bottle.

Dahlia paused mid thought. Mid answer. Her mouth falling open in a silent gasp & lack of immediate response. Try as she might, she couldn't really think of a reason not to. Maybe it was selfish of her, but she also really wanted to. Really wanted to. But still, she had to ask.

"Right now?" She whispered conspiratorially.

"Why not?" He shrugged. "S'gotta be better than this lot, yeah?"

Dahlia gave a quick look around & then went back to regarding Robert with a bemused smirk. "Don't you think they might miss you, your highness? I mean, how could they not miss their beloved Prince of Peace?"

He winced again at the little rib. (Dahlia was one of the rare very few whose barbs both landed & made him laugh.) But he did his best to play it off with a laugh & a wry grin of his own as he mused. "We'll be back."

Dahlia cast her eyes back over the bacchanalia, mulling things over. Another moment passed before she shot to her feet, tossing a soft voiced request over her shoulder. "Wait right here."

She then left the table & crossed over the room to Peter sitting at the bar with his ever present cigar, tapping him on the shoulder. She whispered something in his ear which had the cigar chomping bear of a man nearly dropping his cigar in shock as his jaw nearly slackened. He muttered something back, motioning to the goings on to which she shook her head, explaining further. She motioned across the room, lifting her hands in a quizzical shrug before pointing to the door, which was guarded shut. Then folding her hands together, she evidently pleads her case. And surprise surprise, wizened, hard negotiator Peter folds. He relents.

Peter motions to Magnet - of all people - pointing to her & motioning to a back entrance & hence exit. Dahlia squealed, leaping into Peter's arms & giving him a grateful squeeze. Peter grinned, hugging her back & patting her on the back with a meaty hand, making sure to keep his lit cigar away from her & keeping her safe from the ashes.

Upon breaking the hug, Dahlia turned to motion to Robert himself & tell Peter something else that nearly made him drop his cigar again. Peter's eyes widened & then narrowed. Clearly telling Peter that Robert too would be making his exit & taking his leave just then.

Peter's gaze sharpened... Not with malice... But with knowledge... He knew Robert... His types... His wonts... Or wants...

Robert knew this well...

And so it was that as Robert sidled up to both Magnet & Dahlia, he heard something above the whines & curses of the groupies. A few gruff words grunted in Cole's direction by his behemoth of a manager that cut through the din. "Get Pagey..."

Hustling himself along with her & Magnet out the door, Robert did his best to avoid Peter's gaze from then on out. Helping her into her jacket, which was really one of Pagey's more subtle, casual & less spangled boleros, Robert couldn't help but ask. "What was that about, luv?"

"Oh nothing..." She shrugged before thanking him & Magnet for opening her door & helping her into the car respectively. "Thank you. Such gentlemen." The tension Robert felt was broken by a shared giggle between the three before she continued. "I just told Peter I wanted to leave & hit up East LA for awhile before we head back to the Hyatt. He asked if Pagey was coming & I said he disappeared with Bonz for a bit & I couldn't find him. Besides, he was having fun last I knew, so I didn't want to pull him away from him being able to relax."

"I see..." He trotted over to his side of the car, slipping inside himself with Magnet shielding him from view of any lurking groupies as best as he could. "And the motioning to me & the party at hand, luv?"

"Simple." Dahlia explained, punctuating her words with the click of her belt. "I told him to tell Jimmy where I was, that I'd be back soon & not to worry. That not only would Magnet be with me but so would you & that you were leaving to tag along with me too. That you'd be there to protect me as well."

Robert felt a slight quickening of his pulse despite the innocence of it all. The innocence of her explanation. Of the situation. Yet the cloak & dagger feel of it all gave him a little heart flutter & frisson at once. He didn't quite know why. He couldn't quite put a finger on it.

Why was he so unnerved?...

It was his idea, after all...

They weren't doing anything wrong anyway...

It was then that Magnet got onto the road & pulled off. Now Robert knew... There was no turning back...

Though turn back he did...

Robert couldn't help it...

And so it was that as he craved his neck to glance back at the traffic behind him, Robert swore he saw a hint of a familiar tall, willowy, smoking, silver accented, black-haired figure hustling into the back seat of a car that roared to life & took off a few car's length behind them.

Only one word came to mind to describe the situation Robert found himself shoe-horning himself into now & his current state of mind.

"Shit..."

~

Hope you guys enjoy~!

~

~

In the car, Robert saw a transformation occur in Dahlia. A fire lit in her eyes. Her body grew tight. Expectant. As his was too, albeit for a completely different reason.

As a familiar DJ howled over the radio, she called out. "Mag, mind changing the channel? I love Wolfman, but I'm in the mood for something else. Try KRLA or something."

"Mag" or Magnet obliged. He turned the dial as he turned the corner.

A voice crooned from over ten years ago.

"Those Oldies But Goodies remind me of you~..."

He knew who it was.

Knew what she wanted.

Magnet knew too, hence his turning the dial in just the right direction.

Art Laboe.

Dahlia proved them both right as she recognized the station instantly.

"Yesssss…" Dahlia hissed.

Magnet flicked an amused grin back at her through the rear view mirror.

Robert's eyes were drawn to her too. In full. Closely watching. He saw her toes curl. Her fingers tightening over her small clutch purse & book. Fingers tightening. Toes tightening. Body tightening. Anxious. Expectant. Excited.

Was this how girls were like in making their way to their concerts?

Perhaps.

He saw an aura grow around her. Bated breath & something swirling about her in the smoky haze in the car. Cracks in the veneer. Little glimmers of light peeking through from within.

She was coming alive.

Or about to.

Memories of her dancing & carrying on with her friends at the Chuco flash through his head. Drinks & dancing.

Robert dancing with dusky maidens under the stars. Making him feel home sweet home. Little Mexican Maureen facsimiles. More Indian beauties. More weaknesses. More indiscretions. More things to apologize to the actual, original, one & only true Maureen to.

Robert danced with her too. Dahlia. Bopping around to the rock'n'roll songs they grew up & cut their teeth on. Robert even managed to snag a few slow dances with her. Under the same stars & streetlights.

Until Jimmy appeared out of the ether seemingly. Sidling up to them & spiriting his girlfriend and then fiancee away & into his own arms. Slowdancing with her himself under the stars & streetlights. The flashes of lights both from that & the headlights & taillights of the classic cars that surrounded them all bathed them in a flickering warm glow that matched the warm glow that seemed to emanate from the couple themselves.

Just as Jimmy would want & the only way he'd have it.

Light and shade.

That memory sent him rocketing back to the present. The present that had him beside Dahlia in the backseat as she went from allowing her body to flit from two extremes in her response to the best Art Laboe could play; melting at ballads to winding back up at the rocking tracks as they played. All the while, that same sharp, inscrutable look remained in her eyes. Deep brown depths alight with more than the passing flicker of a streetlight. All as they were similarly surrounded by a tight phalanx of headlights & taillights.

That last bit quirked the corners of his mouth & would've made him laugh had he not been otherwise occupied.

No, instead as Dahlia's head craned back & let yet another sweet ballad from yesteryear wash over her, Robert's head craned back, peering myopically into the following headlights & trying to make out any familiar faces amongst the blinding beams.

No luck.

He thought he saw a familiar town car. Perhaps even a familiar curly black head. But would he ride in the front seat? Was he just seeing things? He didn't know.

All he knew was that as ever, a half an hour or so alone with the lovely young Miss Dahlia was never enough for him. But now he found it stood true for a whole different reason entirely.

As Magnet gunned the engine along with the twanging guitar of Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" Robert's stomach clenched to match his fist. Twanging guitar. Mentions of someone who could "play guitar like ringing a bell". He knew someone like that. Someone who was hot on their tail. Whose smoky dragon breath curled hot on the back of his neck, tickling the golden curls there.

Magnet's driving chugged the car along like the train alluded to in the lyrics. Robert was the conductor. Or at least he had been. The chain of cigarettes he took down produced the smoke.

Dahlia's fingers on her right hand stayed "strumming with the rhythm that the drivers made". Her left hand shifted over Robert's. Clearly, she sensed his nerves. Even if she didn't understand them or why he was in their clutches. He just was. She wanted to help. That was that. Even if he didn't want to talk. Wasn't ready to talk. She was there for him as a friend. That was all that mattered.

The contact elicited two reactions in him at once. It both soothed his soul. And inflamed him. In a way she seemingly had no idea. To paraphrase Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, the very song that was playing then as she did that; "If she didn't know by now, she'd never, ever know."

She didn't know.

But he did.

Magnet did.

Peter did.

Virtually everyone else did.

Especially a special someone.

One whose stately diamond ring glinted in the flickering light as it circled her left hand's delicate third finger. One whose slim delicate fingers paired with his massive fucking hands in strumming with the rhythm that the drivers in his head made, playing his guitar like ringing a bell, like a fuckin' menace.

The PreRaphaelitic faced, star-suited dragon lord himself.

Paganini with a pick.

James Patrick Page.

The one Robert remained keenly aware of as he verily sensed the town car trailing them mimicking each twist & turn his "getaway man" Magnet made behind the wheel. Johnny B. Goode himself. Hot on the trail of a "country boy" who - despite his best impulses - always seemed to telegraph his wants & needs to be a little bad. Impish. Impulsive. Impetuous.

Peck's bad boy.

Plant's bad boy. Anthony Plant's bad boy. With Page's good girl. His best girl. His wife. His fuckin wife!

And though he never did anything really. Though never crossed the line. Never behaved untoward with Dahlia. Page knew.

Page knew.

He knew.

He knew Planty.

He knew Plant's tastes in women. Hell, he knew Planty's fuckin' wife! He knew Dahlia fit right in line with Planty's tastes. How sometimes the only thing saving some stupid journalists from telling Mrs. Page from Mrs. Plant was that Dahlia was just a few inches taller.

He knew Robert. He knew how he took to loneliness. He knew how it was on the road & how easy it was for Robert to go looking for company. How easy it was for his eyes to go astray.

And how easy he found it & how often it was that Robert's eyes found themselves straying to her. Straying on her. Her face, her eyes, her curves, her entire figure, her hair, her smile, her whole self, her entire being.

He saw. Even when Dahlia didn't.

He saw how he looked at her. How often he looked at her. The way he looked at her. He knew that look. He'd seen Robert give it to other women before. Women he intended to take to bed.

Jimmy had given girls that look before himself. He'd had similar results. But that was before Dahlia. Before he gave it to Dahlia. And after a slow seduction, months of letters & calls & a pen pal friendship that blossomed in between her on and off relationship with Jim Morrison, that he found himself the first to take Dahlia to bed. Not just any bed either. His bed. When she visited England in the spring of '67 & stayed in his then new house. Pangbourne.

Prize won.

But he found there was no moving on from that point. She was in his blood. One taste. And that's all it took. She was his. No matter what. Even if it took a while sealing the deal. No matter. He'd do whatever it took to ensure that. The deal was done.

Robert knew the whole story of course.

He also knew that it was Jimmy's knowing that look, and knowing those results, first hand no less, that only made it so Jimmy did his damndest to ensure that only he could get such a result when giving Dahlia that look. Not anyone else. And certainly NOT Robert.

And as Robert registered another pat of his hand by Dahlia, he smiled. Both from the tenderness shown. Classic Dahlia as ever. And for how succinctly Eric Burdon was then summing up the many things that had been whirling about his mind then, in yet another old song from years past.

"Well, don't you know that no-one alive…

Can always be an angel…

When things go wrong I seem to be bad…

I'm just a soul who's intentions are good…

Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood…"

The situation found itself more succinctly - if vaguely - summed up when Magnet slowed the car to a stop & parked, announcing. "We're here." Then "Mag" jerked the handle shortly, opening the door wide and supplanting the last strains of Eric Burdon & the Animals with a slow, slinky bluesy intro.

Dahlia instantly perked up, recognizing the sound & crooning. "Ohhh! I love that song. C'mon Robert, let's go!" And with a series of clicks, the unclicking of her belt, opening of her door by Magnet & the hurried clicks of her heels towards the music as it swelled, she was gone.

Robert was left to finish his last cig, brooding, contemplating, mulling over Big Jay McNeely voice as it drawled out the first line. The words teasing him in their seeming concise reading of him upon arrival.

"There is something on your mind~..."

~

As ever, this is forever under construction~...

~

~

Dahlia's gaze towards Jimmy was as singular as Jimmy's was to her. Even as she passed him a fresh beer of his own. Even when he took it with soft thanks & sipped from it.

Hers was starry-eyed, reverent & thrilled. Jimmy's gaze towards Dahlia was soft & tender. Kissing her hands before guiding her back inside.

Jimmy's gaze towards Robert was… less so.

Wary. Knowing. Almost accusatory. Jimmy very nearly bristled when Dahlia wasn't aware or looking in his direction. Brooding. Glowering. He'd only switch back to his sweet tenderness & warmth when Dahlia's gaze returned to him.

Robert shivered as Jimmy & Dahlia strolled over to him. Taking another sip of his beer to wet his parched throat - When did it get so dry? - he did his best to shake that off and think up a casual greeting. "Hey, mate! Glad you could make it! Was wondering when you'd get here?"

"Indeed." A Middlesex monotone replied. "I was just asking Dahlia here why she left so suddenly. Said you two had been discussing the merits between back at the Rainbow & here at the Chuco. She told me it was your idea to leave. Thankfully it was her idea to tell Peter to tell me. So I wouldn't worry. Isn't that right, my girl?" He emphasized the words "my girl". He always emphasized the words "my girl".

"Yes, darling." The word "darling" curled into the air like a plume of smoke from her lips. "Robert & I got bored & wanted to see how things were back home here. I didn't want to take you from the party since you seemed to be enjoying it. I also couldn't very well leave without you knowing." She cuddled closer to Jimmy, right arm around his waist, left on his chest. Right over his heart.

"I couldn't find you. Didn't even know where to even look. Not after you disappeared with Bonzo. Didn't want to worry you though so I made sure to tell Peter to tell you where we were & that I was safe. If anyone could find a way to tell you it was him. Peter made sure I was safe. As always. Safe with Robert & Magnet. He made sure you had nothing to worry about. See?"

"Indeed." A softer tone. Suburban Surrey sigh. Of relief. Of relaxation. Once again, he took her hand, lifting her left hand to his lips & pressing a kiss to her delicate little knuckles. Right by her ring. Dahlia giggled. In her girlish rapture, she was blissfully unaware however, of how Jimmy cut his eyes at Robert while doing so. His gaze remained severe as he rose back up & placed her hand back on his heart.

Diamond ring glinting in the light on her third finger.

Stately gold band shining on his.

Robert had to smirk & let out the tiniest breathless "hmph" of a laugh.

That was Pagey.

He never did anything by chance.

Just then, Dahlia's voice cut in, ending the stalemate.

"Do you forgive me, baby?"

Jimmy turned back to face her. His large left hand cupped her cheek. Ring still glinting. Pink lips curving from severe slit back to sweet smile. "Of course, my dear. There's nothing to forgive." In one swift move he leant in & claimed her lips as his, claimed her as his, again. "As long as I know you're safe. Nothing else matters. Nothing."

Dahlia's eyes glittered & shone in the pink light as he said that.

Now it was Dahlia that Robert saw being defined by the dj's choice.

"Hypnotized, you've got me hypnotized...

All it took was just one little look into your eyes...

I'll do whatever you say, command me and I'll obey...

(Because I love you)...

La la la...ha ha...

In a magic spell of romance...

Make me hold you...

Make me kiss you...

My heart is yours to command, and woah-oh...

Hypnotized, gee, gee I'm so hypnotized...

Just one touch of your fingertips...

One kiss from your sweet, sweet lips..."

"Though you did give me quite a fright." Jimmy admitted surprisingly. "Disappearing into the night like that. All I want is to know that you're safe. To keep you safe. And near."

Try as he might, Robert couldn't help himself. Maybe it was the beer. Maybe it was his usual brusque Leonine bravado. Maybe it was both.

"What's the matter, Pagey? Worried she was gonna run off with a blonde country boy? Much less yer lead singer?"

Dahlia's face fell. She gasped, turning to gape at him in surprise. She was truly stunned it seemed. Aghast. Clearly, she had no idea where this came from. Her eyes volleying back & forth from his face to the bottle in his hand telegraphed where she figured it came from though.

"No." Jimmy's response was terse & equal parts heated & cool. "What trash papers or cheap novels have you been reading? Honestly! Don't flatter yourself, Planty. I know well enough she would never do that. Never. We both do. We all do."

The gunslingers let their fingers cool on the triggers respectively. Each cooled their heels. Cooling themselves with a sip of their beers.

Until Dahlia spoke up again.

"Jimmy…" Both sets of eyes flew to her as she asked. "Let's go dance, huh? C'mon. I've waited all night."

"Waited?" Jimmy blinked in surprise. "Has Robert not led you on the dancefloor at all tonight?"

"No, baby." Dahlia shook her head. "He never even asked. It never even came up."

Shit, Robert thought. She was right. They were here all that time. Together all that time. Alone all that time. And he'd never once asked her to dance. Unlike before. He usually always got a dance in with her here. All that time. All that wasted time. And he'd never once gotten her in his arms. Now he knew his time was up. His chance had run out. Jimmy was about as likely to give him a chance to dance with her that night as he would give him a chance to play his guitar! Goddammit!

"Really now?" Jimmy quirked a brow, a smirk curving at his lips. "That's so unlike him. He usually jumps at the chance to."

"C'mon, Jimmy." She took his hand & pleaded. "C'mon, baby. It's been so long since we've been here. I missed it so. Didn't you miss it too? Remember all the fun we used to have here? All the other dances? In here? In the parking lot? Under the streetlights? Under the moonlight?"

"Aww, my darling." Jimmy's smirk then softened into a legitimate smile. His large left hand came to cup her cheek, guiding her into another kiss.

She gave herself willingly, fully into the kiss. But clearly, she was still on edge. Still willful. Still wanting.

Pulling back, Jimmy took & pressed another kiss to her left hand again. "Of course I remember, my dear. How could I forget. We've had such wonderful times here before. For years! Perhaps it was meant to be that led you to lead me here again. A welcome little change. A delight. A delightful surprise. Fate."

He smiled his best eye-crinkling smile, leading her to beam up at him in kind as he cupped her face in both hands now & pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Very well then. Whatever you say, my love." Then placing his now drained beer on the bartop besides Robert, using the clink to punctuate his words with a bit of finality, he nodded. "C'mon, Dahlia, my girl. Let's go dance."

"Wait, really?" Dahlia gasped. She knew how shy Jimmy could be. How reticent. Especially with the ever-growing weight of his & the group's name in the public eye. But when Jimmy nodded, she knew better than to question it. There'd be no looking a gift horse in the mouth from her. No second guessing.

And so it was that Robert saw them recede onto the dancefloor as the song yet again narrated what he saw before him; albeit with the tiniest mistake in getting the month wrong.

"I remember...

That night in May...

The stars were bright above...

I'll hope and I'll pray...

To keep...

Your precious love...

Well before the light...

Hold me again...

With all of your might...

In the still of the night..."

Robert ambled over to the wall by the door, reclining against it. One leg bent, foot against the wall behind him. Beer in hand.

As he stood there, he heard the music playing from the outdoor patio. A different set of oldies were playing for the kids to dance to or chill to under the streetlights. A double soundtrack for Robert to sit - or stand - and contemplate.

"Devil or angel, please say you'll be mine...

Love me or leave me, I'll go out of my mind...

Devil or angel, dear, whichever you are...

I need you, I need you, I need you...

You look like an angel...

Your smile is divine...

But you keep me guessin'...

Will you ever be mine?..."

Still, his eyes never left them as they swirled about the floor. Her eyes lit up by more than the pink light. Jimmy's glittering in kind. Both locked in a shared ecstatic grin amidst secret hushed words & giggles as the music continued to narrate.

"My love must be a kind of blind love...

I can't see anyone but you...

…

Are the stars out tonight (sha bop sha bop)...

I don't know if it's cloudy or bright (sha bop sha bop)...

I only have eyes for you dear...

(Sha bop sha bop)..."

Robert watched avidly. He saw how the "stars" that night shone in her eyes. How they dazzled. Dazzled him. How they were dazzled. By Jimmy.

At the same time, the outdoor soundtrack of sorts weaseled its way into his ear. It read him as well as anything playing that night. Needling him. Seeing him. Seeing deep within him. Seeing all. And laying it bare.

"Each day through my window I watch her as she passes by...

I say to myself, "You're such a lucky guy"...

To have a girl like her is truly a dream come true...

Out of all the fellows in the world, she belongs to me...

But it was just my imagination...

Runnin' away with me...

It was just my imagination...

Runnin' away with me..."

The Temptations. Despite himself, a wry smile curved his lips. Both from how fitting the name of the group was & how well it fit with the Dells' song playing as Dahlia & Jimmy waltzed in the center of the dancefloor.

"I won't forget all those things...

You have told to me...

The craze in my heart...

Won't let me forget your love...

…

Oh, what a night (to love you dear)...

Oh, what a night (to walk you dear)...

Oh, what a night (to kiss you dear)...

That's why I love you so...

No, no, no, no, no...

No, no, no, no, no...

One more night...

Can I walk you home one more night?...

I wanna make love to you one more night...

I love you baby...

I want you baby, I need you baby...

I love you baby, one more night..."

Watching Jimmy waltz so effortlessly. With Dahlia in his arms. Beaming up at him. Whispering to him. Kissing him. Robert couldn't help but brood a bit.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of another petite lovely. Dark hair, dark eyes, dusky skin… And unlike the one he had centered in his sight… The one he usually had his sights set on… She was signaling her interest in him. Finger curling in the end of a lock of hair. A soft smile curling her lips. A twinkle in her eye.

His eyes flicked over to her from time to time. A grin tossed in her direction. An effortless wink. Hell, even the occasional blown kiss. It came easy to him now. She wouldn't be the first he picked up at the Chuco. Hell, she might not even be the last.

Still, Robert's eyes couldn't help but be pulled to the same set of familiar glittering eyes that shone up at his guitarist friend as Otis Redding called into his ear from outside. Reading him once more from the great beyond. Searing into him.

"These arms of mine, they are burning...

Burning from wanting you...

These arms of mine, they are wanting...

Wanting to hold you...

And if you would let them hold you...

Oh, how grateful I will be...

Come on, come on, baby...

Just be my little woman...

Just be my lover, oh...

I need me somebody, somebody to treat me right, oh...

I need your arms, loving arms to hold me tight...

And I, I, I need, I need your, I need your, tender lips, to hold, hold me...

Tell me when I'm right now, baby..."

In the blink of an eye it seemed Robert was no longer alone.

"Hey…"

Looking towards the source of the hushed greeting, Robert found the young petite beauty had spirited her way next to him. "You alone, handsome?"

"Not for long." He grinned, snaking an arm around her waist as her hands went to his chest. "S'yer name, luv?"

"Paulina." She cooed, nuzzling him as she asked. "You in town long?"

"Mmmm… Pleasure to make your acquaintance, luv." He nuzzled back, one large hand gripping her hip. He heard her gasp softly, drawing an even wider, dimple-popping grin from him.

Old Habits die hard.

"What brings you to these parts, Paulina, my dear?"

"Well, at first it was the music… But now…" She rubbed her nose against his in a soft little, teasing Eskimo kiss. "You…" Her eyes flashed up at him, searing him in her own way.

"Smart girl." His grin now widened to a face-splitting Cheshire cat level.

Another gasp sounded as he then stole her lips in a sudden hungry kiss. She responded in kind instantly. Though, gathering as much of her own barely checked ardor & need as she did, she still struggled to match his passion & fervor.

Breaking the kiss just as Paulina began to swoon, Robert began kissing his way down her throat, sucking a mark onto her tawny skin.

Though even as he mauled the young Paulina so, his eyes still rose. They still lifted. They still moved across the room & locked onto the sight of another dark beauty. He couldn't help it. The same one as ever. Her and her dark lord. The two were still making a striking sight as they swirled & whirled about the floor. Only this time, they two were beginning to neck as well as Etta James sang.

"All I need...

Is someone like you...

My dearest darling...

Please, love me too...

Within my heart...

I pray your answer's yes...

I'll make your life...

Full of happiness...

Whenever you need me...

I'll be there by your side...

Oh, I pledge my love to you...

With God as our guide...

Oh nothing, nothing, nothing in this world...

Can keep us apart...

Unh, my dearest darling...

I offer you my heart..."

Dahlia's arms tightened around Jimmy's shoulders. Jimmy's hands sliding up & down her back. Jimmy's head craned into the crook of her neck in between his mauling her with kisses. Her eyes closed & head tilted back as she giggled & smiled rapturously.

The sight still stung a bit. The beer dulled it a bit. And the presence of a curvy beauty in his arms helped to soothe the rest of the sting.

The music pumping from outside continued to needle him, however.

"Sincerely, oh yes, sincerely...

'Cause I love you so dearly, please say you'll be mine...

Sincerely, oh you know how I love you...

I'll do anything for you, please say you'll be mine...

Oh Lord, won't you tell me why...

I love that girlie so...

She doesn't want me...

But I'll never never never never let her go...

Sincerely, oh you know how I love you...

I'll do anything for you, please say you'll be mine..."

Robert did his best to brush those needles off. As his hands slid up & down Paulina's back, he tried to ignore how they paralleled the movements Jimmy's hands made on Dahlia's back. The barest thought of it, the merest thought, made him crave to feel how it'd be to have his own hands running up & down Dahlia's back. Feeling how she'd react. How she'd respond to the very things that had Paulina purring & nearly coming apart in his arms.

That thought was the straw that broke the camel's back for him.

Unlatching his lips from her neck, he glanced down at her. Eyes closed. Sweet smile. In rapture herself clearly. He grinned, rubbing his thumb over the soft bruise he'd already drawn into her skin.

Try as he might, he still had Dahlia on the brain.

He sucked the mark deeper into her skin & gazed at her.

He gave Paulina his own version of mauling kisses & gazed at her.

He pulled back from the passionate kisses & gazed at her.

Dahlia, for her part, was still lost in her own world dancing with her beloved shimmer suited Jimmy.

"C'mon…"

And as he grabbed Paulina by the hand & guided her out the door & out into the car, the vision of Dahlia, rapturous, smiling, dancing whirled in his mind along with the words to the song they were dancing to - the only song that was playing both inside and outside - rang in his mind.

"Forever my darling our love will be true...

Always and forever I'll love only you...

Just promise me darling...

Your love in return...

May this fire in my soul dear...

Forever burn...

My heart's at your command dear...

To keep, love and to hold...

Making you happy's my desire...

Keeping you is my goal...

Forever I'll love you...

for the rest of my days...

I'll never part from you...

or your loving ways...

Just promise me darling...

Your love in return...

May this fire in my soul dear...

Forever burn...

My heart's at your command dear...

To keep, love and to hold...

Making you happy's my desire...

Loving you is my goal...

Forever I'll love you...

for the rest of my days...

I'll never part from you...

or your loving ways...

Just promise me darling...

Your love in return...

May this fire in my soul dear...

Forever burn..."

~

Hope y'all enjoy~!

~

~

Bright lights, big city. Taillights & headlights. Children of the sun. Suntanned skin & brown bottled beer. And a curvy, dusky skinned sylph a bit too dressy for such casual surroundings heading into the blues pumping nightclub. Cutting a swath through the milling crowd. Bathed in a pinkish glow from the neon curved lights announcing to the world the humble haven at which they, along with Robert & co had found themselves: The Chuco.

A reference to the Pachucos, zoot suiters that a lot of its denizens were birthed to or had otherwise in their family.

The first teddy boys in a way, Robert thought, right down to the flashy clothes & slicked back hair. Some of the kids still sported that "greaser" aka teddy boy look. Though Robert knew well enough to steer away from the former term & used the latter. He recognized the look anyway. Right down to the cuffed jeans & white t-shirts with the rolled up sleeves that had the cigarette packets & matchbook tucked inside.

He had attempted such a look in his youth. In those heady early days. When rock'n'roll first shook him, and blues first seduced him away. Astray.

Astray.

Astray is apparently how he continued to stay. How else would he find himself here? At a small nightclub away from the rest. Away from all others. But Magnet.

And her.

Magnet he saw chatting up a pretty, petite young thing against a nearby wall.

That just left him. And her. And about a few tens of other kids around them. But in his mind they all but disappeared. All blurring into a Renoir like smudgy frame for his gaze. Myopic as ever. Single-minded. Laser focused. His view. His vision. The vision.

Her.

Her.

Her.

She was bathed in light. A pink light. Blushing violet pink. The shade was a near perfect match to the signage outside. It lit her & everyone else in the room. Making them look like the denizens of one of those pulpy romance comics. All dark features & strawberry light. All dark features except for him. Which, despite his better nature, only served to have him further feel like the protagonist in one of those pulpy romances.

All dark features. And strawberry light. All he saw then was dark features & a figure lit by strawberry light. From the club's tinted lighting, yes. From the rose colored glasses Robert always seemed to sport- especially regarding her - also yes. But also from within.

She lit up.

She came alive here.

She was incandescent.

Her eyes sparkled. Glittered. Shone really. Her mask of previously remote features now fully removed if not shattered. Now her lips curved in the proudest gleaming grin.

She raised her arms in exultation, releasing a cry of exultation from deep within. One which ended up being a cry of call and response. As many around her responded with a similar cry in return.

Thankfully she was far enough ahead - while of course still remaining well in Robert's sight - that no one around them let out any other screams at Robert's striding his 6 foot, blonde, white, English country boy self inside.

Indeed he saw some glimmers of recognition, disbelief, then outright confusion. He could read their features like a book. A silent movie at play before him.

Is it him?

It is!

Why the fuck would he be here?

There's no way!

Little did they know.

There was a way.

One way.

Her.

Her.

Her.

Robert took a beer Magnet gave him in passing. He then noted with his first sip, that Magnet as he passed, was currently flitting on his way to another girl still with the first in tow. Three's company. His kinda company clearly. Clearly hopeful that a threesome was on the way.

Classic Magnet.

Upon taking this beer, Robert raised it to those eyes of recognition. A toast. In return, he pressed a finger to his lips & gave a conspiratorial smile. Thankfully, miraculously, this seemed to be enough to quell any tongues that might've been set a-wag by his arrival. Smiles were returned. Nods & cheers with their drinks in return. A few blown kisses by some young lovelies.

And it was then that even though Robert found his "cover blown," so to speak, he found himself in the clear.

With his way now clear, Robert made his way to Dahlia. She had hugged a few old friends in warm, enthusiastic greeting, chattering animatedly in a quick catch-up. Catching them as she was arriving & they were leaving. After waving goodbye, she then strolled over to the bar, picking up a beer & taking a swig herself as her bent elbow rested on the bartop she leaned back into.

As Robert approached, the soundtrack of sorts, incidental music, continued to tease him in a way that seemed anything but incidental, accidental, or by happenstance. This time, it was Junior Walker & his All Stars.

"What does it take…

(What does it take)...

To win your love for me?...

(To win your love for me)...

How can I make…

(How can I make)...

This dream come true for me…"

He reached out in what seemed like slow motion. Reaching for the vision in raspberry light. Strawberry light. A brilliant smile that seared itself into his mind at first glance. A lyrical laugh that rang out above the clinking beer bottles & trickled over him like the lightest, sweetest waterfall. And silken, tawny skin that burned him alive simultaneously as his fingers slid across her velvet soft hand. The one without the ring.

Her eyes cut over to him. Her gaze at first flickered in confusion before alighting in recognition, smile back to full strength. She mimicked the song then playing in her greeting.

"Hello, stranger." She then added yet another one of her light, playful teases. "Long time no see." Clinking bottles with him, she continued. "I was wondering when you were gonna amble your way in."

"Ah…"

For once in his life, Robert struggled for a snappy line.

So he scrambled for the closest thing.

A grin curved his lips, easier than he felt inside. "Well I can't very well leave you to the wolves now can I?" His delivery wasn't as smooth as he'd have liked, alas. His voice shook slightly. Hopefully she just took that for barely checked laughter.

As it turned out, she took it in stride. It barely checked. It barely registered.

"Wolves?" Dahlia tossed her head back in a laugh of her own. "What wolves?" Motioning to all that was around them, she stated proudly. "This? This is family! We're among family here, Planty! Don't you see? Can't you tell? We're home!"

Home.

Home indeed.

For her.

Dahlia, the girl from East LA. Hometown girl. Local girl made good. Just as her historian father Alberto Dominguez-Alvarez was a local man made good. His books and scholarly lectures and presentations were full of their glory days, both past & present.

Children of the sun.

Chucos.

Chicanos.

He'd caught one of those presentations & lectures in Birmingham in his Pre-Zeppelin days. That's where he got Alberto's books. That's where he got a primer on Mexican culture. Pre-Columbian & current. On Mexican youth. Past & present. On her.

Her father had used her pictures as an example - if a rather self-indulgent one - of modern Mexicanidad. Mentioning her then current early enrollment in UCLA.

There was a collage of pictures of her with her acceptance letter. In a brown beret uniform in East LA where they hailed from. In her Quince dress from the society page. In a button down & jeans in the slightly more upmarket part of LA the family had then moved to. In a classic, demure dress in Mexico. Using her as an example of possibility, of accomplishment, of their multifacetedness. All in one.

Later, he admitted when questioned that yes, she had been in the Sunset Strip curfew protests that some had termed riots. But he stressed that they were protests. And social engagement, community engagement was not a crime and should not be considered a crime due to a difference in melanin between the protestors themselves or between them & those they were protesting against. A knowing reference to the Civil Rights Movement.

Neither Alberto nor Robert had no idea how prescient those words were. He would later. Later. Later when Dahlia showed pictures of both herself & her father in the East LA walkouts, backing up people back home. Backing up friends. Backing up family.

And again at the Chicano Moratorium.

One of the few Zeppelin gigs she had missed she missed on purpose, flying into LA to take part while they did a gig. She headed back to East LA where her family had moved back to by then. Ready to support. To protest. To be heard. The pics she later showed them showed them looking hopeful. Proud. Expectant.

That was before, due to unforseen circumstances, things went left that day. Dark. Deadly. Black.

As soon as he heard, Pagey was on the phone. Peter too. As soon as he heard from Dahlia herself - thankfully safe at home & able to take the call - that she & her family were fine, Pagey had her fly back out to meet them on their next stop on the next available flight. Pagey had her in his arms. Locked in his room with him. Grant assigned them - her really - a bodyguard, under his, Jimmy's & honestly everyone's agreement.

Saying another silent prayer for Ruben Salazar, the one casualty that day, and any others affected, Robert decided to shake the darkness from his mind.

He allowed himself to be pulled back into the light.

Pink light.

Raspberry light.

Strawberry light.

Warm light.

Her light.

He saw his teen self in his mind's eye as he was then at the presentation. Gawking at the pictures. She was bleeding beautiful. Two years younger than him. Where did they make birds like that? Brains and beauty. Dusky skinned determination. Heaven-sent & hip as hell. LA? East LA? Right then and there, he pledged that if he ever made it to the States, he had to go there, wherever that was. Los Angeles, he knew. How far east he'd have to go, he didn't.

What he also didn't know at that time - not until much later - was just how close just such a girl was to him then. Not just such a girl. That girl exactly. For the time was spring 1967, and not only was Alberto in England.

But so was Dahlia.

Alberto, of course, was lecturing Robert & others in the north in Birmingham.

Meanwhile, Dahlia at the time - as he would later find out - was staying southward in London.

She had left the hotel room her father had gotten her, leaving her to study for a paper she was going to do on English History as he traveled about. The hotel room then stood mostly empty. Instead, she saw fit to stay with another attendee of one of her father's lectures that he'd given in London before coming up north.

A friend.

A penpal.

An on again off again budding potential love & beau.

On Shooter's Hill.

In Pangbourne.

With one who would later - now - be his songwriting partner & close friend.

Yes.

With one James Patrick Page.

There she was holeing up with him. Hitting up his local haunts with him. Scotch of St. James in between her studies. Granny Takes a Trip between corrections of one draft's grammar most likely. Giving herself to him for the first time. First of many. First of many on that trip he figured as well. Knowing Pagey. In the car if he had one. In the boat. In the boathouse. Every bleeding where in the boathouse. Again knowing Pagey, Robert figured there was hardly a surface in the place, down to the couch he sat on that first day when he came down, that hadn't been so christened that time in '67.

Granny's, the Scotch, in bed (and other places) with a dusky, driven & foreign little brunette dish. All the places Robert could then only dream of being.

Now he had his dusky brunette by way of Maureen. But she was back home with the kids. And he'd had others since then. Plenty others. Many others. He even had several around him that day.

All his focus went to only one though.

One that was off limits.

Very decidedly off limits.

The one that was closest to him funny enough.

Or as Brenton Wood sang then.

"I run after you...

Like a fool would do...

But mama didn't raise no fool...

And I should know...

That baby you got it...

That's all I can say to you..."

Brenton even seemed to see in her what he did.

"You got soul, too much soul...

Foxy clothes, the cutest nose...

The greatest shape...

There's nothing fake about you...

Baby you got it..."

But when Brenton continued, Robert felt it once again hit too close for his liking.

"My friends say no can be...

You're not the girl for me..."

Bullseye!

Try as he might to distract himself with another sip of his beer, the next song was no better.

"Just pull them little strings...

And I'll sing you a song...

I'm your puppet...

Make me do right or make me do wrong...

I'm your puppet...

Treat me good and I'll do anything...

I'm just a puppet and you hold my string...

I'm your puppet...

Your walking, talking, kissing loving puppet...

I'm hanging on a string...

I'll do anything, love you 'n' kiss ya..."

"Here…" Dahlia snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked down. A peace offering. Another bottle of beer to replace his now drained one.

Another clink.

"Cheers." She locked eyes with him, pursed lips grinning behind her bottle.

"Why won't you...

Take a chance on me...

And let me show you...

How wonderful to love can really be...

I can love you for all eternity...

Take a chance on me..."

God damn it if it wasn't Brenton Wood again summing it all up again.

"Dahlia…" He breathed her name in more of a sigh than he wanted to allow at that point. Her name always sounded like a sigh. Always. From day one. From the first day he heard it. A sigh.  A dreamy sigh. To him. From others. And most importantly from him.

"What is it, Robert?" She slid her hand over his, giving a gentle squeeze again like she had in the car. "You feeling alright?" 

That voice.

That hand.

That silken skin.

That touch.

That tenderness.

A tenderness that was always so apparent in her.

A gentility amidst her all-encompassing warmth that ranged from the flickering of a flame, dancing & playful like the mirthful light that shone in her eyes to molten, incandescent, torrid & sizzling. It scorched him. Seared him. Searing him deep within. Burned him. Burned within him. Burned him inside out. Made him feel feverish.

And again, the song playing around them said it all.

"The touch of you (baby, baby, the touches from you)...

Is drivin' me out of my head, oh, boy (baby, baby, out of my head)...

What a touch from a little hand can do (can do)...

Especially coming from you…

Turn my life all around (all around)...

I can't seem to settle down…

Oh, baby…"

"Dahlia, I…" He started before he even knew what he was going to say.

Thankfully…

Mercifully…

He was cut off before he could figure out much more to say.

Both by a random lad in an awed hush. "Holy fuck! Now there's two of them, dude! Am I seeing things?"

But no…

He wasn't…

The lad wasn't seeing things…

Because there he stood in the doorway. All six feet of PreRaphaelitic glamour. A brooding Black Irish English stallion. The dragon. The "Dark Lord" himself.

Or as Dahlia gasped, trotting over to him excitedly.

"Baby!"

James Patrick Page.

Count on him to make his entrance to a song with a twangy guitar intro.

Of course he would.

Jimmy extended his arms, welcoming Dahlia in his embrace with a smile. He hugged her tight. Warmly. Protectively. He mumbled something to her to which Dahlia nodded. Pressing a kiss to her hair, her forehead & lifting her chin, then her lips, he claimed her. Sealing it with a kiss. Or three.

And as ever, Robert was left with the unintentional soundtrack summing it up for him.

"Love...

Love is strange...

Lot of people...

Take it for a game..."

~

Hope y'all enjoy~!...

~

~

Laurel Canyon, 1965~

Walking up the driveway into the house, from his tour around the grounds by the house's owner, Jimmy let his eyes scan the room. Turning left, he saw his date for the evening Jackie sitting in the pit - a sunken floor & seating area - chatting with one of their friends. He had come to the party with her that day. Jackie had been something of a regular or semi-regular presence in his life. They'd been on & off for a few months since working together both on her music, songs for others like Marianne Faithfull, or even his own attempts at solo work. Though the less said about that single, the better he figured now.

Turning right & taking a sip of his drink as he tried to clear that from his mind, he saw a bunch of kids dancing in the center of the living room. They weren't really kids, actually. Most looked about his age from what he could tell. They twisted & moved in front of large double glass doors that looked out on quite a view of the city below. The setting sun streamed in through the windows, starbursting over the dancing kids. One in particular caught his eye.

She was in a slim fitting sheath dress with a scoop neckline & a mottled shimmery watery blue & lagoon green print. The dress skimmed what he could surmise was a very alluring figure. Long dark hair flowing loose around her shoulders, tawny skin, a hint of cat's eye eyeliner framing two deep brown eyes. Full rosy cheeks. Even fuller berry rose lips. She laughed & clapped & spun about with an older male friend as the guitar in the song trilled.

Try as he might, Jimmy couldn't tear his eyes from her. She was lively. Spirited. Drop dead gorgeous. He simply had to get her name.

Nudging his host for the evening, he motioned to the dark sylph dressed in siren's blue & asked. "Who's she, mate?"

His host Tony turned to peer in her direction before smiling. "Ah, her? That's Mariella. She lives up here. Bought a house on Appian Way not too long ago. Made a few papers. Rather young for being a homeowner, she. Teenage homeowner. You know how papers eat that stuff up."

Jimmy nodded at that. He knew all too well. So she was a teenager, was she?

Tony explained further. "But she's more known for her music."

"Sings, does she?" Jimmy asked with a sip of his drink.

"Like an angel!" Tony nodded. "Though she sings mostly in Spanish. Mexican music & the like. Her father is a singer, too. A famous one in his field. Carlos Ignacio Alamilla. She sometimes used to tour with him. Now she goes between performances with him & her own local club gigs."

"I see..." Jimmy nodded, mulling over the many ways their similar lines of work might give him an in with her. "Mind introducing me then?"

To his surprise, Tony laughed.

"What's so funny?" Jimmy asked, half annoyed, half confused.

"Nothing. Except I feel I must warn you. You being new here & all you probably don't know. She's not too forthcoming with new people. Her father is extremely protective of her, with her being his only daughter. And even if you get past him, there's no promise you'll get anywhere with her. The running joke is that while most everyone's first word was "mama," hers was likely "no."

Jimmy snorted.

"It's true. Not to say she's mean. Just very careful in meeting new people. Wary even. Once you get to know her... If you get to know her... Once you get close... If you get close... You'll find she's a delight... Sweet girl... Just very shy I guess... Impossible not to love her, that one..."

"I see..." Jimmy breathed those words in a dragon's puff of cigarette smoke.

A delight...

Sweet girl...

Shy girl...

Indeed...

What's not to love?...

Jimmy contemplated everything he was told with another puff of his cigarette before asking it & announcing with a wry grin in yet another dragon's puff. "Well, now I have to meet her now don't I?"

"Alright." Tony drawled, placing a hand on Jimmy's shoulder. Don't say I didn't warn you. And don't be surprised if she's not as forthcoming with you. It takes her awhile to warm up." With that he led the way as he & Jimmy weaved their way through the crowd.

Each undulating body seemed to serve as a fluttering curtain. A momentary eclipse. All of it making it so as they neared Jimmy saw her move in sections. In snapshots. Rotoscope images that burned & swirled in his brain, searing themselves into the grey matter. Each fleeting glimpse only serving to intrigue & tantalize him more. The time it took for them to cross the few feet's distance they had to traverse, feeling like one long scene in slow motion. The music falling into silence. The silence cut only by the sound of his blood thumping in his temples. His heartbeat pounding like a drum of war.

Jimmy's mouth went suddenly dry. He swallowed hard. He could be wrong but he swore that lump he felt in his throat, if it wasn't his Adam's apple, might've been heart-shaped.

Just then, Tony's voice cut into his train of thought, slicing through the thumping silence. "Hey, Mariella."

Black hair fanned out as she whirled to face them cutting her dance short, before coming to rest framing her face as she turned.

Lovely face, Jimmy thought.

A look of confusion crossed her features before her eyes lit up in recognition. "Tony! There you are! I was wondering where you had gone off to!" She spoke in a bright voice colored with an indeterminate accent. "I knew you were here but I didn't see you. How are you?" She asked with a hug.

Perhaps, this would be easier than Tony said it would.

"Just fine, doll. And clearly you seem to be enjoying yourself too. Great mix of songs you brought this time as always!" Tony smiled & returned the hug warmly. "I've been looking for you too by the way. I have someone I want to introduce to you. He's a friend of mine."

"Oh?" She looked up at him with a curious pout.

"Mariella Alamilla may I introduce one of the latest English imports to hit our shores, A Mister James Patrick Page." Tony motioned to Jimmy, snickering at his own overly florid introduction.

She, Mariella, turned to face Jimmy, regarding him with the same curious pout. Indeed there was a touch of wariness edging those eyes as they scanned him guardedly. The young girl stayed close to Tony, anchoring herself to him amidst this stranger before her.

Now was the time.

Jimmy gave her his best disarming smile & extended a hand. "Pleasure to meet you. Call me Jimmy. And may I say you have a phenomenal taste in music. What's the name of the song if I may ask?"

"Pleasure's all mine I'm sure." Her voice was cool & soft as she placed her smaller hand in his lightly. Feathersoft. Fleeting, hesitant contact. None of that brightness & effusiveness that had been so evident in her chat with Tony. "And thank you. It's one of my favorites. It's called "El Boogie de la Guitarra" by Los Crazy Boys. Mexican Rock. Tony likes me to bring some music by artists he and the gang might not have heard of." She explained in a polite yet matter of fact tone.

Mariella had undergone a sudden transition. She went from alive & incandescent to hushed & removed. Her light still shone but now it flickered like a candle in a breeze. A light in the window of a tower, or at a high altar. Still burning. Still present. Still bright. Yet just out of reach. So near & yet so far.

So Tony was right after all! He WAS gonna have to work with this one. Interesting...

Bringing her hand to his lips he kissed the back, eliciting a jolt, soft gasp & the slight widening of eyes.

At least he could get some kind of reaction out of her. A delicious one at that.

Fighting a grin at the sight of her trying to reel in her reactions so & giving a soft curtsy in semi-formal / semi-playful response to his florid actions, he continued. "I hear from Tony you're in the music game too."

"Yes." She replied, still soft yet pointed. "I sing with my father at times & at other times do my own thing."

"Which is?..." Jimmy asked, maintaining his hold on her hand despite the momentary soft pull he felt. She attempted to retract her hand after the kiss, clearly expecting that to be it. Clearly, it wasn't though. And so her hand remained in his, his thumb rubbing the kiss-printed back as the rest of his hand swallowed hers whole & kept it there. Jimmy meanwhile did his best to distract her from this fact by adding. "Tony told me you sing Mexican music?"

"Yes." She nodded, swallowing hard herself. Clearly she was trying to ignore her nerves. Trying to ignore or quell the tremble in her hand that was locked in his. A fact he clearly reveled in. "I sing Mexicana with my older brother, father and his band. Banda. Boleros. Mariachi. That sort of thing. When on my own I sort of mix that with an indie kick. Maybe a little jazz. Maybe a little rock. Maybe something else. It all depends on my mood." Lifting her gaze from her hand in his & pinning him with a look that was at once both curious & cutting, she asked. "Do you sing too, Jimmy?"

He & Tony shared a knowing laugh. "Not really I'm afraid. I plan to stick to the guitar & maybe my art otherwise."

Tony nodded, explaining simply. "Jimmy went to art school before things really kicked off for him. He's now one of the most in demand session guitarists there is, doll!"

Jimmy did his best not to blush at the compliment. He didn't want to be too conspicuous. Though he had been content to remain silent up to this point, Jimmy saw that Tony's eyes had volleyed from Jimmy himself to Mariella and back like he were witness to the most captivating tennis match ever.

"Really now?" Jimmy heard the first lilt in her voice in what had been quite awhile. The light in her eyes flickered anew. The corner of her sweet mouth lifted as she asked. "That seems to be quite a frequent occurrence. Tell me, Mr. Page, do all you Englishmen flock to art school before you hit the music scene?"

Both he & Tony laughed again. "Boy if it don't seem like that sometimes, huh?" Tony nudged Jimmy, grazing him with an elbow to the ribs.

"Yeah it does. A lot of us sure seem to but it's not like a dead set rule or anything." Jimmy smiled as he met her gaze. His laughter crinkled eyes were met with a gaze that was still just as inscrutable as it was penetrating even as little flames of mirth danced in her eyes & in the corners of her soft, wry smile.

Where had he seen such a look before?

He couldn't put a finger on it.

Shaking out of that thought, he added with a soft pat to her hand, still locked in his, with his free one. "In any case I do hope I'll get the honor and pleasure to hear you sing while I'm here."

"Maybe you will." Tony smiled.

Though Jimmy's gaze hardly left Mariella, Jimmy could still catch the barest glimpse of him signaling to someone off to the side.

Another soft curtsy by the young lovely in the blue dress followed, recapturing Jimmy's full attention. "I hope you still find it such a pleasure afterwards if you do."

Jimmy was sure he'd indeed find her such a pleasure.

In more ways than one.

Just then Jimmy found his attentions pulled to his side as a certain familiar blonde, curled her way around him, linking arms with him.

It was Jackie.

"Jimmy..." She drawled, snapping her gum sharply. "Where've you been. I've been looking everywhere for you. And who's this?" He saw her eyes scan Mariella warily.

Mariella for her part barely flinched. Her features hardly changed. One eyebrow lifted in the barest perk as her head tilted slightly. "Nice to see you again, Jackie. How've you been? Haven't seen you since the last music show we did together. Hope you've been well." Her voice was as ever cool, controlled & polite. Where some would fight fire with fire, she clearly preferred to ice out the flames entirely. And rather aptly at that. Smooth.

"Oh hi, Jackie. Tony was just showing me around & introducing me to people." Jimmy explained as coolly as possible.

"I see..." She cast a nonplussed look his way before turning to regard the dusky brunette once more. "Ah, Marie-Ella..." Jackie cooed, breaking her name up in some sort of southern double name special like her own government name was. "I'm so sorry. I didn't realize it was you!" Her voice was super sweet as she laid it on as thick as honey. Though try as she might she still came off as something a little short of genuine in her apology & attempts to ingratiate.

Had she always been this cloying?, Jimmy thought.

"Long time no see indeed!" Jackie giggled. "How's the eighth grade? Or is it ninth now? It's been such a long time I just can't keep track."

It was then that Jimmy & Mariella's hold on each other broke.

Eighth grade?

Ninth?

What was that in terms of forms again?

Jimmy cast a stunned look at Mariella who just shrugged.

"Actually I'm in high school now, thanks for asking." She replied matter of factly. Calm. Cool. Collected. Sweet & smooth. "How's the school of life treating you, Jackie? Well, I hope." There went that soft yet inscrutable stare.

Jackie just scoffed & smacked her gum again. "Well enough thanks." Then tugging on Jimmy's arm, she announced. "Jimmy let's go. I have some people I want you to meet."

Before he could think to respond with more than a mere. "Wait, Jackie. Wait..." Mariella gave him a playful salute with two fingers to her temple.

"See you around then. Bye you two."

And with that, she & Tony disappeared into the crowd as Jackie pulled him away.

~

As ever this is forever under construction~!

~

A bit from a fic I've been toying with~

This takes place around the early 2010s~

Jimmy & his young pregnant wife, Yulissa Garcia~

~

'I've got a surprise for you." Jimmy announced as he strode up to Yulissa.

"Yeah?" She giggled, covering her mouth shyly.

"Yeah." He lifted up one of his scarves to her. "Here. Turn around."

Upon following directions, Yulissa found her vision suddenly obscured as Jimmy tied his scarf around her eyes. She felt his hands brace her arms firmly yet gently, nudging her forward as he instructed further. "Follow my lead."

Yulissa was guided down the corridor. She wracked her brain as much as she could but all she could think laid in that direction was a room in the house that had stayed empty but for a few of Jimmy's guitars. And though she felt she might have been mistaken, that seemed to be exactly where he was leading her for some reason. The way he gingerly brought her to a stop in the center of the room made her think some of his guitars indeed were in the room still.

"You ready for your surprise, darling?" Jimmy stunned her by how breathless with excitement he seemed to be.

"As ready as I'll ever be I guess. You certainly seem more than ready yourself."

"I am. You'll see why, love. I can't wait till you see why. And you will... In three... Two... One..." Jimmy carefully removed his scarf from her eyes & announced. "Go on, love. Open your eyes."

When Yulissa opened her eyes, she gasped. She indeed found herself in what she had once playfully termed "Guitar Storage Room #76" rotating the number with whatever number crossed her mind before. But that was not what had instigated her surprise. Instead, it was the room's transition. It had a completely new look. Though a few of the guitars still remained the room had transformed completely.

The walls, once creamy white & plain now were a mix of purples, pinks, oranges, blues and whites. Lush sea and sky scapes. One wall mimicked the early dawn. The next a crystal mid day. The third wall a soft dusky evening. The doorway behind her linked the evening to the morning in a lightening ombre with tiny stars dotting the entryway.

Inside the room against the "early day" wall, was a changing table & dresser set. The wall nearest the dresser held a large pink & peach seashell riding a cresting wave & opening towards the dresser & changing table to reveal a pale lavender white pearl. Jewels rose up from a chest underwater & scattered in the foamy sea water alongside flowers & equally scattered petals. Those were not the only flowers. The shell itself had a rose on one side of the mouth & a poppy on the other. Above the shell flew doves with a pale ribbon held between their beaks as if to hail the treasures below. The combination of the open treasure chest below, the doves & the bright light above all seemed to embrace both the seashell & the dresser & changer in front of it.

The midday wall held the sight of a grove by a lake in full abundance. Apples, oranges, lemons, peaches & grapes ripe for the picking. Baskets of roses all in bloom. Some fruit scattered the grounds along with flowers. All of this bathed in the starburst sky.

The dusky scene held a riverside scene. Something of a timelessness in it. A place in between time. In between places. Elements both of the Thames & the LA River after a good rain lay within. Hers & His. Up in the star dotted sky lay the brightest star, with a halo around it, floating in a sheer almost milky haze. Bringing with it hints of the galaxies above. Heavens. Eternity.

Yulissa was stunned into a tearful silence. The whole piece told a story in a blend of some of their favorite art styles. PreRaphaelitic & Post-Impressionist. With Italianate Renaissance touches to combine the two.

His study had Pre-Raphaelitic & early Victorian art mixed with the psychedelic artefacts of his youth. Her study had Impressionist Sargent & Mexican Muralist Kahlo art with Baroque Reubens touches.

This was the blending of the two. An expansion of the blending of their beloved art styles that lay in their bedroom. The ultimate expansion. All four elements. Earth, Air, Water & Fire. All five realms. Sky, sea, air, land & universe. The perfect & ultimate combination of the two of them. Just as their soon to be arriving, little one would be.

All that could be heard was her soft, shaky breath as she gazed from wall to wall, hands still covering her mouth.

When he asked. "Well, what do you think?" Her answer was simple. She turned & ran the few steps into his arms, hugging him tightly. He embraced her tenderly in return. His long arms holding her together when she fell apart.

"Yulissa... Darling..." He cooed, petting her hair & pressing a procession of sweet kisses to her temples. Just when she felt herself almost give herself to her tears entirely, she stepped back.

She made sure, however, to remain connected to Jimmy, pulling back, yet remaining with his hands clasped in hers. "Baby, this is gorgeous! Just gorgeous! How did you do this? How did you get all this done? Who did you hire? And what did you tell them to create this?"

"Oh, I have my ways..."

~

Hope you guys like it~!